Anti-gentrification protest rolls down York Boulevard

HIGHLAND PARK — A group of anti-gentrification protestors – some of them masked and waving banners – paraded down the sidewalks of York Boulevard tonight, taping “Eviction Notices” on new businesses and prompting some heated remarks and exchanges on Twitter. The protestors appeared as many of the York Boulevard shops were preparing for the monthly art walk.

There are fucking banks, wal marts, targets, and all kinds of other corporate piece of shits worth the energy of protesting, Jesus Christ, you bigoted assholes, just because someone is white doesn’t mean they were born into some incredible life of privilege. YES we need to make sure there is affordable housing for for people of all means, but the issue is not annoying usueless hipster coffee shops, and thrift stores. These people are trying to get by just like the dude selling homemade fritos or whatever the fuck that orange garbage is. There will be corn covered in mayo on a stick for years to come in Los Angeles, everyone relax and go after the real enemy, which are the right wing corporatists!

As a long time resident of NELA (third generation) and an aspiring right wing corporatist, I resent your remarks! Having said that, I find it ironic that these “activists” would give the newbies such a hard time when from an idealistic point of view, they would seem to have more in common with them than not. Very hypocritical and it hurts me to see such contempt. We all have to respect each other – and yes, that includes Walmart.

We’ve been literally stalked by real estate (hedge fund bank folks) when coming home with all kinds of offers to buy the house we rent. Sometimes, they include sob stories and pretending to “want to live close to their family but can’t find a house to buy in the HLP”, yet they’re willing to pay “cash” for our home).

Wonder if the group is addressing Tenants Rights, or the outsider money coming in to do all these “Home Depot” flips that are inflating the bubble? People are apparently willing to sell, and hopefully they are turning a profit for having endured the tumultuous recent history of HLP.

Anyone from the protesting group here to defend themselves? (I’m not being sh*tty, just curious to hear what they have to say otherwise).

But hey! At least we’re not San Francisco where if you do get evicted, you may have to leave your city to afford housing. Or is it that bad?

Combating the flippers would have been buying one of these houses 20 years ago, or even ten when they were affordable. Whether you like it or not in America when you buy something it gives you power. Then as residents you could reject the influx of the more wealthy (and white because sadly the higher up you go on the income ladder you find more white people, this is due to a whole bunch of sad and unfair history, but we can only do so much to rectify it, perhaps one of these ways is the dramatically higher rates of social services that hispanic families get which come from taxing those with wealth which are the businesses you are protesting). I am very happy that the taxes I pay go in part to helping my neighbors who I love and would do anything for. But you’ve got to understand that Jose’s Auto Shop isn’t gonna be part of a tax base that can go into paying for good schools, and social programs so that the black and brown people in our country get the same education as the white people. There is indeed advantages to being white in America, and thats bullshit and unfair. But not every white person experiences these advantages. Let’s all agree that the protesters certainly have something to be angry about. But it’s much deeper and much more complicated then some fuckign hipster coffee shop, or patheticaly sad west coast pizza joke. So really the assholes in this event are clear those masked, cowardly, whiney little cunts with the idiotic signs that just serve to embarrass all involved. I fart in your general direction.

But honestly Luis, and I mean this with no sarcasm. At least you got out there and made a statement for something believe in. It’s more than I can say. I have a lot of anger at some unjustifiable shit that make me furious and a daily basis, but all I do is smoke weed until my brain shuts off. It’s terrible. Luis I believe you to be a good person, perhaps even great person. And I think you’ll be able to see the error of your ways on this particularly unbelievably retarded protest? Whatever the fuck it was, a tip of my hat to you sir for rallying some people. Re-aim and go get them buddy… (hint, go for the Wal Mart thats hidden in Echo Park).

Funny, but you’re right. A lot of these protesters are your typical Mexican “activista” who like to argue that this here was Mejico way before the Europeans decided to start bringing th”eir wagons from the east. A lot of them feel “not welcome” by white people but it’s in part due to their own inability to be something more than “Mexican” (yet a lot of them worship Morrissey). I don’t get it (and if it means anything, I’m Latino, raised in HLP, just not one of these protesters because I ended up paying for the house my parents bought when I was little so no fear here of being evicted, and I already told a few people who want to buy my house to f**k off).

I’m sure many have borrowed on that equity and bought houses in areas yet to be gentrified which they will rehab and resell. That’s how it works. Get that down payment money and go where you have to to get your first one.

It’s too bad the community never mobilized and served the taggers and gang members eviction notices when they terrorized Highland Park in the late 80’s and early 90’s. But yah, let’s pick on the pizza place.

“They came first for the vinyl record stores, and I didn’t speak up because I didn’t buy vinyl. Then they came for the artisanal coffee roaster, and I didn’t speak up because I drink rooibos (duh!). Then they came for the modernist furniture store, and I didn’t speak up because I decorate in Hollywood regency (obvs.). Then they came for the custom donut shop, and I didn’t speak up because custom donuts are so last year. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one to speak up.”

Stated differently: I think you’re overestimating the significance of this.

The anti-gentrification “movement” is essentially a movement of hispanics who don’t like white people moving into “their” neighborhood. It’s racist at its heart.

It’s easy to laugh at it, but it’s also a little scary knowing that there are racists like this lurking around. I wouldn’t feel safe if I were a white person in Highland Park. And that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? To intimidate and frighten people. What’s it going to take before people chill out with this sutff? For someone to get hurt?

Dude your understanding of the issue is racist or at least informed by racism. To classify a whole movement as being fueled by an anti-white sentiment is to infantilize them and thus to ignore what this movement is actually about. I say listen dialogue and learn instead of just writing them off completely because of the color of their skin or the fact that they are Latinos.

Your handle on today’s economy/ real estate is beyond sad. Do you know why middle class Anglos, Asians, Latinos and Blacks are making the ‘fringe’ areas their home? They are being priced out of the preferred neighborhoods such as they West Side by foreign investors. Real estate has become global. Foreign investors are buying prime real.

Just in case you didn’t read it…You’reallVapid
November 9, 2014 at 10:06 am
“I am finding the more I read this blog and its comments, the more I realize the readers and supporters of this blog are uneducated/uneducable. Why is it so difficult to understand that white privilege is real? So real, that for decades these neighborhoods were ignored by the same governing bodies that are now so willingly granting business permits, approving parkletts, and buying land for public parks. The same banks which had previously not lent money to people of color in those neighborhoods to buy a home, or start a business are the same banks providing home loans, and small business loans to new business owners that are in these considered “hip” and viable neighborhoods. Do you not care or do you not want to recognize this whatsoever?

And No, the previous residents did not support the gangs, or plethora of disadvantages THEY lived and endured through before these neighborhoods gentrified. It is idiotic and yes, racist to believe that people of color want to live in impoverished and unsafe places. This is not what is desired by anyone who wants to shed light on the issues that stem from this blind support of “improvements” to a neighborhood. Improvements that by the way, will not be enjoyed by the likes of them despite them having to live through some of the worst violence in these areas. No, they don’t get to enjoy these “betterments” because they are priced for the new yuppie/hipster residents, as are the rents and the cost of living generally. Stop ignoring this and recognize it.

Did you not learn about this country’s history? I find most ignorant the comments that wash over the blatant and very real systemic racism that the displaced people of neighborhoods such as these have and continue to experience, as well as the lack of recognition from the likes of readers/commenters of these blogs; same people that continue to perpetuate and benefit from this system that is in place to benefit some and disadvantage others. Gentrification is not new, neither is racism. What is new is this generation that believes that fairness and equality exists regardless of color. That is the inherent danger in all of this. There is an age group that feels entitled to say, ‘get over it’, as if they themselves (much less their ancestors) could live through decades of inequality, lack of opportunity, lack of financial stability, unequal pay, et al. I would love to have seen the civil rights movement work and force everyone, especially white people, to start from scratch and see just how they would navigate and thrive through the same conditions everyone else has had to work around….I digress…

See, the anger and distaste for this sort of change stems from not just a new donut shop or restaurant, or hip bar the just opened, nor the newly renovated craftsman that just fetched over $500,000….no. It stems from the ignorance of your own history. For example have you asked yourself why and how you can afford to move and affect local economies to the extent that policy is changed in your favor, while not recognizing why the people you have displaced never had the same power? You may not mean to do this purposely, but it reeks of callous ignorance when you ignore your own history and make statements about the ridiculousness of these sorts of protests- that are simply trying to shed light on why some people don’t like this change, more importantly what these changes mean in the eyes of those who are being displaced. Again, it’s not the donut shop, restaurant nor bars, it’s the expense that THEY have paid, Not YOU, and yet YOU can enjoy the fruits.

These people understand that these “betterments” are not being made for them, nor will many of them get to the enjoy living in safer communities now, when THEY have endured the hardships. Don’t fool yourself. There is a clear division between those that have been or are being displaced, and you. That you fail to recognize this allows everyone to know where you – the gentrifier stands on issues of race, class, etc. Hopefully these protest bother some of you enough that you will open up a book or do some research on the history of the areas that you have overtaken – it’s doubtful because you were raised with white privilege, which has real capital in this hypocritical society that we call a democracy but I really hope some of you at least try to understand it beyond the facade of a new stupid business being opened in your neighborhood. It’s deeper than that.”

*So please, do not make this about color, its about privilege and the connections between your life in the professional, personal, and historical spectrum. Question you role in society, next time your disengaging your sobriety at one of these local bars. Because the fact of the matter is, whether the drunk is brown or white, its still a drunk and its a community issue.

Im mexican american as my siblings, grew up in highland park and have a masters degree in education. I put myself thru college as i was raised by a single parent. 90 percent of my Mexican American friends also graduated from college. unfortunately i cant afford to own a home in HLP. Ill try HP, but maybe i should have earned a degree other than teacher, social worker, or psychologist.

Only insecure and guilt-ridden”white” hipsters constantly play the race card. Otherwise, NOTHING has been uttered by protesters regarding race or ethnicity. I WISH that just ONCE one of these”white” marshmallows dared play the race card to my face. I would leave nothing but squeaking gerbils in my wake because if there is one race in this country that should shut their traps, listen, and learn about race-relations, it’s the one group whose criminal legacy taints virtually EVERY disagreement imaginable that is even remotely related to race, which gentrification isn’t. Although, even the assumption/knowledge that all wealthy investors and developers must be victimized “whites” only reinforces a race-based agenda against “whites”. I guess they don’t teach irony in “white” schools(?).

I am finding the more I read this blog and its comments, the more I realize the readers and supporters of this blog are uneducated/uneducable. Why is it so difficult to understand that white privilege is real? So real, that for decades these neighborhoods were ignored by the same governing bodies that are now so willingly granting business permits, approving parkletts, and buying land for public parks. The same banks which had previously not lent money to people of color in those neighborhoods to buy a home, or start a business are the same banks providing home loans, and small business loans to new business owners that are in these considered “hip” and viable neighborhoods. Do you not care or do you not want to recognize this whatsoever?

And No, the previous residents did not support the gangs, or plethora of disadvantages THEY lived and endured through before these neighborhoods gentrified. It is idiotic and yes, racist to believe that people of color want to live in impoverished and unsafe places. This is not what is desired by anyone who wants to shed light on the issues that stem from this blind support of “improvements” to a neighborhood. Improvements that by the way, will not be enjoyed by the likes of them despite them having to live through some of the worst violence in these areas. No, they don’t get to enjoy these “betterments” because they are priced for the new yuppie/hipster residents, as are the rents and the cost of living generally. Stop ignoring this and recognize it.

Did you not learn about this country’s history? I find most ignorant the comments that wash over the blatant and very real systemic racism that the displaced people of neighborhoods such as these have and continue to experience, as well as the lack of recognition from the likes of readers/commenters of these blogs; same people that continue to perpetuate and benefit from this system that is in place to benefit some and disadvantage others. Gentrification is not new, neither is racism. What is new is this generation that believes that fairness and equality exists regardless of color. That is the inherent danger in all of this. There is an age group that feels entitled to say, ‘get over it’, as if they themselves (much less their ancestors) could live through decades of inequality, lack of opportunity, lack of financial stability, unequal pay, et al. I would love to have seen the civil rights movement work and force everyone, especially white people, to start from scratch and see just how they would navigate and thrive through the same conditions everyone else has had to work around….I digress…

See, the anger and distaste for this sort of change stems from not just a new donut shop or restaurant, or hip bar the just opened, nor the newly renovated craftsman that just fetched over $500,000….no. It stems from the ignorance of your own history. For example have you asked yourself why and how you can afford to move and affect local economies to the extent that policy is changed in your favor, while not recognizing why the people you have displaced never had the same power? You may not mean to do this purposely, but it reeks of callous ignorance when you ignore your own history and make statements about the ridiculousness of these sorts of protests- that are simply trying to shed light on why some people don’t like this change, more importantly what these changes mean in the eyes of those who are being displaced. Again, it’s not the donut shop, restaurant nor bars, it’s the expense that THEY have paid, Not YOU, and yet YOU can enjoy the fruits.

These people understand that these “betterments” are not being made for them, nor will many of them get to the enjoy living in safer communities now, when THEY have endured the hardships. Don’t fool yourself. There is a clear division between those that have been or are being displaced, and you. That you fail to recognize this allows everyone to know where you – the gentrifier stands on issues of race, class, etc. Hopefully these protest bother some of you enough that you will open up a book or do some research on the history of the areas that you have overtaken – it’s doubtful because you were raised with white privilege, which has real capital in this hypocritical society that we call a democracy but I really hope some of you at least try to understand it beyond the facade of a new stupid business being opened in your neighborhood. It’s deeper than that.

@Not Sorry. Learn what racism means. It is not the same as prejudice. Racism is institutional, exercised by those who hold power (yes, whites) in ways that people of color cannot. I am not victimizing anyone, it’s a fact that white people do not get pulled over for stop and frisk “policies”, shot dead while they reach for their driver’s license if/when they are pulled over, assumed that when they are in an altercation, it is not gang related. I can go on for pages of examples as to why your statement is incorrect and show countless examples of what I mean, but the fact that you use “brown racist” as an off the cuff remark tells me that I would probably be wasting my time and I did that enough already on this blog.

Another Broken Spears fan who doesn’t know up from down. Why do cops pull over latino males between the ages of 16 – 24? Because they commit the crimes. They don’t pull over old latina grandmas. Cops are looking for specific things. Being brown isn’t the only thing that will get you pulled over.

@eon long Funny that despite the theft of millions during one of the biggest financial crises we don’t pull over white, 3 piece suit wearing, bankers. White people commit crimes too, often they affect more people because of their social standing and what that standing allows them access to.

Also funny that Tim McVeigh’s of the world don’t prompt law enforcement to create the same type of generalization and racial profiling. Not on the street, nor at airports…hmmm…Oh yeah. Wonder why that is….

@eon long
You’re not serious. This is the last comment responding to you, as you have no interest in serious discourse about this topic.

You’re terribly misinformed if you believe that “Global Elites” fit into your rainbow of varying skin color. Those who control the wealth (and I mean real wealth not the small business owner) I mean those that can and do manipulate government, stock exchanges, policy in their favor, etc., are white. Period.

Now, crime is real, including as you put it “la raza on la raza…” crime. The white “raza” perpetuates amongst the worst crimes against, not just Angelenos of different cultures, but atrocities around many non-white cultures around the world under the guise of “democracy”. It IS a race issue (always has been) amongst other things (on a macro and micro level whether you choose to accept it or not). To ignore that is silly. Why you won’t recognize that it is present and exists is confusing to me.

Surely you can try to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and experience the world through their eyes, maybe you’re incapable of it and there is the issue.

White people (not all but the majority, I can only think of Tim Wise, Noam Chomsky, Gore Vidal to name a few) have the tendency to assert their opinion safely from the confines of their white skin and privilege, that people should get over this or that, or focus on this or that, but the heart of the matter is that institutional racism is the foundation of this country and is inherent to the many problems that most of us face today. They, nor their families have ever been subjected to the type of situations that people of color have and do experience on a daily basis.

Imagine if white people had not been allowed to buy land, as many non-whites were disallowed for decades, to improve their financial situation. If that doesn’t open your eyes about its implications, and all you can think is “get over it” you’re missing the point. Legal maneuvering like this is partly to blame for many families living in chronic poverty, to say the problem is that “they don’t take their education seriously” is farcical. I have read plenty of books on the topic, enough to feel confident that what I speak of is factual, not opinion based rhetoric.

Until enough people (of all color) recognize those ills, and have a desire to change them – and I mean change which requires recognition and understanding of past and present wrongs, no real progress will come about.

If you don’t think people of color can be racist, you should visit Mexico and observe the attitude many, many Mexicans toward people of African descent. It’s disgraceful. I lived in Mexico City and Guerrero for 18 months. And are China and Japan considered to be “of color”? You might find a wee bit of racism there too. What about North African Arabs, who were the first people to own sub-Saharan African slaves? The fact is, these protesters (and you) are using some tired academic arguments to justify their distaste for white people moving into a mostly brown area. It’s painfully obvious. Can you imagine back in the early 1950s, when Highland Park was still 90% white, the storefronts of newly arriving Mexican merchants being plastered with “Move Out!” eviction notices?

Luis, please direct me to the website or source where we can become involved in this protest. The time has arrived to deliver a chin-check to these elitist bullies who think they can simply squat and browbeat their way into our barrios. I’m pumped-and-primed to educate them differently and if they’re not part of the solution, they are the problem. Si Se Puede!

Yeah, why don’t you and the other three or four posters here form a little army and try and rid us all of “the elitist bullies” who have forced their way into the barrio. But before you march on York again, do me a favor and see about taking out some of the gang bangers who have been shooting and killing our kids for generations. Lets see how far you get with THAT,

“For example have you asked yourself why and how you can afford to move and affect local economies to the extent that policy is changed in your favor, while not recognizing why the people you have displaced never had the same power?”

You seem to imply that the Latino residents of Northeast L.A. – and the rest of Los Angeles, for that matter – have no power to change their station in life. On the contrary, there are plenty of Latinos who have reached the middle class, despite your patronizing, insulting implication that they are helpless victims of a white middle-class invasion.

@James, I did not imply that at all, you misunderstood my point simply. I will elaborate: Historically, wealth distribution has been controlled by, and limited to whites, for example via the use of the legal system. There have been laws which existed for this sole purpose, for example laws which did not allow people of color to purchase land/property, therefore affecting their ability to have the same financial/political power (not this illusion of power that comes with a belief of belonging to a ‘middle class’ that you speak of). I raised the question previously because anyone with a general grasp of American History would know at least that or would make the connection as to how current (white) generations have the upper hand versus current generations of people of color. There is no victimization going on here, just speaking about history.

Did you organize this protest? If you did not, you are certainly taking advantage of its existence to wax poetic atop a soapbox misrepresented as ‘anti-gentrification’ when your real intention is to ‘educate’ the people about systematic and institutional racism and how it is to blame for every problem, real and imagined, that has faced people of color.

If you did indeed organize this protest, then I strongly urge you to sit down and define your intentions. How exactly does targeting small businesses send any sort of message to the systems/institutions/politics that you blame for the displacement of longtime HLP residents? The new shop owners have already received their bank loans and already rented the storefront property. They already have customers and are serving the community, whether or not you are willing to admit it. Previous commenters are correct in pointing out that if, as you allege, the banks and local government favor giving gringos loans and permits and (illegally) deny Latinos of such rights, then you are not protesting the correct people. If you want to blast them for not having ‘affordable’ goods, then you should make a point to patronize the older neighborhood shops that you have decided you have the right to speak for. Have you thought to consider that fact that perhaps the business owners who are losing their shops due to rising rents have failed to adjust their own business models to fit the changing population? Perhaps they don’t speak English, perhaps they are cash only, perhaps they- like you- are needlessly succumbing to their own prejudices and unabashedly grouping all HLP newcomers as racist white elitists and are therefore not getting any of their business.

Are you, instead, targeting these businesses for access to their hipster patrons? By passing out fliers for a ‘Renter’s Rights’ workshop on York Blvd, you make the assumption that amongst the patrons of these businesses are some of your soon-to-be-displaced neighbors…. but I thought they couldn’t afford the goods there?! You are contradicting your own propaganda. Your message is a mess and your intended audience/future supporters are found elsewhere.

How, then, does provoking these newly rich hipsters benefit your cause in the slightest? Oh right, right… RIGHT HERE. This protest gave you the opportunity to rant and rave at length about systematic and institutional racism, which clearly you know everything about but no one else has ever heard of. But you know what the problem with that is?

You put far too much emphasis on how the world at large has stacked the cards against you. When you see your neighborhood changing and you deem that that change is ‘for the worse’, that is a opinion which you are rightfully entitled to. But when you extrapolate that every change you have seen- every defeat on your part and every success on the part of white people- is caused by racist history that has since been amended, you DO turn yourself into a victim by inadvertently suggesting that there was nothing you or our family could have done to change it. You will lose the compassion vote from any hardworking American who overcame difficult circumstances with that sort of argument. You have overlooked the fact that other people may choose to see circumstance as just that and be motivated by it to better their lives rather than loudly and publicly having a pity party. All of this makes you look sullen and defensive, and with every perpetuation of ‘this all happened because hundreds and hundreds of years of discriminatory history lead us to this exact point’ argument, you lose further ground and succeed only in pursuing an embittered fate and self-fulfilling prophecy of your eventual defeat. Do you not see that?

Lastly, I do not feel as though you understand ‘your enemy’. You are talking about young, liberal, educated and employed people with expendable income. These people went to college, they took community studies classes and studied historical revolutions, political protests and civil liberties. They give their money to small businesses in lieu of big-box corporations. They LIKE and RESPECT a well played protest. That is why this form of dissent has been so ill-received. It is not that the readers of this blog are uneducated, it is precisely the opposite. When your signs read, “MITIGATE YOUR PART IN THE DISPLACEMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY OR VACATE!”, that amounts to harassment. Wearing masks is cowardly and quite obviously a scare-tactic and taking to the internet to safely and from a distance argue with all of your neighbors is not initiating dialog, it is instigating further conflict.

No, I did not organize the protests. Yes, I am taking advantage to discuss things that may not be considered by readers prior to them posting their opinions on this blog.

To fail to recognize that institutional racism IS to blame for many advantages/disadvantages IS part of the problem. To gloss over history as if its effects have not had long-term generational consequences is to not care about inclusion of other (non-white) people in your perceived ideal of community, its progress, and its future. It is real, not imagined. Only a white person would question its validity/reality probably because they have not been subjected to the hostilities, physical or not, that racism forces upon those with the skin tone and/or title of “other” in society.

I think you misunderstood my “alleged” statement about disproportionate access to capital. I have stated that laws have existed in the past, which have prohibited some of us with darker complexion from purchasing land which directly affects the present ability to acquire property. I never said “illegal”, on the contrary legal posturing exists to this day, and those laws/housing covenants were real and unfortunately were legal. This is fact, look up housing covenants in any city in and around Los Angeles and you’ll find that as recent as the 1950’s some laws were still in place. This is why knowing history is important. You get a grasp as to how many of you born well after the 1950’s with parents who probably supported such measures during the “good ole days” in their hometowns view this sort of issue. Here is an interesting article that sheds some light on those types of covenants in the neighboring city of South Pas. http://hometown-pasadena.com/history/when-south-pasadena-was-for-whites-only/88641

Which bring us to capital. With laws in place such as the housing covenants and unfair lending practices that rely upon things like credit scores (which on the surface seem to be color blind but are really another tool to make money available to some and not others) you create a social class of people that in fact do have disadvantages and cannot use their “vote” (as in use of accrued capital to say what they would vie for and support/reject) as you’ve suggested.

Protesting where you are seen by the very people who benefit from this system is how you address this issue, in my opinion, because you’re face to face with those that claim they want to build a community when they don’t care to consider the already established community that is/was present before they moved in (“Columbusing” comes to mind…I kid…) It addresses the selfishness of those who want to shove down their sense of what community is on people who already have established communities in these neighborhoods for generations. Which brings us back to capital – addressing the comments about their voices not being valid because they are not “homeowners or business owners” as some folks have written, says plenty about the mentality of the new breed of HLP residents, mainly their disregard for anything that does not satisfy their interests as landowners and/or business owners. Again, this is not new. You’re simply conditioned to believe that your interests are above all others who don’t share your privilege, but this again is a very old tenet of white privilege. “We must protect American (read white) interests” is still a mantra that is effectively used on a grander. Not. New. At. All.

There is more to community than the interests of those that hold the purse strings. Money is not what dictates what a community should be in the eyes of many people. It is a very narrow concept to think that opening shops and rising rents, and property value will create a community. That sort of mentality further marginalizes and eventually gets rid of the unwanted ‘other’ that does not look like you, nor spend like you, nor value what you do to the extent that in a few years the majority of these racially/socially diverse areas will be quite the opposite. And no, this isn’t the law of supply and demand to those of you who throw that terminology without taking the concept beyond your Econ 101 course. I will say simply that financial world removes the value and worth of the individual and explains things in numerical fashion so that you don’t think about the effects/consequence that these exchanges of capital/gentrification have on actual human beings. They affect real people, not just bank accounts, equity, etc. If your idea of having a voice is defined by what you own, sadly it’s too late to convince you that you’re excluding people from your notion of building a community because you are effectively already doing so by disregarding the voices of “renters”.

Lastly, I will say this one last time. I am not a victim, I don’t view myself as such, nor am I victimizing anyone by writing these thoughts and shared facts about our history. I don’t understand why that is a constant “attack”. I guess it’s an easy way to discredit what I am saying by assuming that I have a “chip on my shoulder” because you believe I am not a homeowner or business owner, but on the contrary, I am both. However, I have no interest in being like you. I am not of the opinion that what I have gives me special privileges when I see others are still denied the opportunities that I have had and enjoy. Despite my own triumphs/failures I don’t forget how the cards are indeed stacked against most, to do so would be hypocritical . I understand it and don’t turn a blind eye to it as many on here seem to do.

Oh, stuff your “white privilege.” People like you love to stereotype white people and somehow that’s not racist. White people are many things and come from many places. Many of us are first and second generation, and many many of us come from poor families. The so-called hipsters in Highland Park are not, by and large, wealthy trust fund babies. They are hard working people who have scraped and saved to buy modest houses in a community they can afford. Just as Mexicans move to neighborhoods and open businesses that cater to their tastes, “hipsters” — whatever that means — are allowed to do the same thing. And Latino culture isn’t the only culture in HP that has value.

Oh, stuff your “white privilege.” People like you love to stereotype white people and somehow that’s not racist. White people are many things and come from many places. Many of us are first and second generation, and many many of us come from poor families. The so-called hipsters in Highland Park are not, by and large, wealthy trust fund babies. They are hard working people who have scraped and saved to buy modest houses in a community they can afford. Just as Mexicans move to neighborhoods and open businesses that cater to their tastes, “hipsters” — whatever that means — are allowed to do the same thing. And Latino culture isn’t the only culture in HP that has value.

@rockineagle “Oh, stuff your ‘white privilege’…” says the white woman/man living as a white person in the 21st Century….yawn…I never spoke of “Latino” culture in my post, nor any culture for that matter. I am not generalizing, just raising questions and pointing out facts. Don’t get your panties in a bunch. Your first, second, third, etc., etc., generation white person will still reap the benefits of the institutional racism. You, nor your poor or affluent white counterparts will never be shot for wearing a hoodie in the wrong neighborhood, nor be ‘stopped and frisked’ because your skin color is deemed the “other” in society.

Eon, is “broken spears” the best you can always do? Btw, it is also a glaring example of the inherent bigotry that taints every one of your juvenile retorts and opinions. Prepare to be confronted and held accountable for your despicable impulses and intolerable bigotry. Those like YOU are simply not welcome in our barrios and it’s time for our community to flex its muscles and make it’s influence felt.

Ask the thousands of Latino small business owners if they agree with you. Or the Latino CEOs. Or high ranking government officials in city, state and federal government. They didn’t get ahead by complaining about “the man” and whining about how the cards are stacked against them. Sure, life isn’t always fair. Attractive people get hired way more easily than unattractive people. Short men get paid less than tall men. You can sit and cry about it, or you can work harder and use your disadvantages as fuel. Or you can wring your hands and whine about how life isn’t fair.

@mandogood maybe you could talk to anyone in LA city Government because they are all wealthy latinos. oh but if you really want to talk to a wealthy latino why don’t you email the second richest man in the world. who sometimes is the richest depending on the oil market. His name is carlos slim.

I have never said whites are not victims of oppression. Please point to where I said that.

Since you bring up a good example, the death of Kelly Thomas was tragic and at best highlighted the poor handling or sick people that should be given treatment and not treated like criminals by law enforcement..

A VERY IMPORTANT distinction is that media and the public did not make the leap to suggest that the parents who sought financial recompense for their son’s death (rightfully so!) were being greedy. Nor was there ever a question as to whether he “deserved” to be treated in the manner in which police treated him. His death is tragic, but it is a very rare exception.

Remember this? Now try to recall the way in which the media portrayed this, and read the comments as to how people feel about people of color in the exact same predicament. Person of color, sick, mistreated and beaten by an officer.

Im brown, my mom’s last name is ortiz and my entire family lives in an area that was poor but now is now gentrified. I have only benefited from the gentrification of my community, and so have my parents. They sold our big house and paid for my education. I don’t understand what you are arguing . This area only stands to benefit like I have.

Victim mentality at it’s finest wrapped in bigotry and racism.
How many more people of all ethnicities are benefitting from the changes in HLP?
Property values up, crime down, more taxes to pay for public education, parks etc.
What’s wrong?

@Mating Arredondo Are you serious..? What qualifies me is the same qualifier that qualifies anyone on this blog to say what they want to say, regardless of how ill informed the statements are. I never said, “I am here to decide who is educated”. I made an observation and it has to do with the lack of understanding that many who post on here have about why some folks in the areas where they live are not content with these changes.

Are you sure they’re Latino? Did you ask them if they were from Latin America, or are you generalizing? I am not racist. I am prejudiced like most people are. However, racist…nope. My people don’t control enough government, policy, financial resources. etc., to be able to effectively disadvantage people that are different from us – like institutional racism does for whites.

Your replying to the wrong poster. But you must be living on a different planet than I do. There is nothing holding you down because your Hispanic. The only thing holding you back is your victim mentality. How come you never here Asians throwing around the race or white priveledge card around. They’ve faced plenty of discrimination in this country. Just read about the massacre in Chinatown in the 1800s

That you throw the term “race card” reveals a lot of about you. Asians did in fact, during the Gold Rush document their treatment (it is very well documented) and effectively challenged the government at a time in history when they were vilified like the Native American and African Americans had been vilified (the government and white settlers used almost the exact same descriptors that they had applied toward Native American and African American people) Visit JANM and you’ll see how they played, as you so ignorantly put it, “the race card”. Then again during the Japanese American war.

I am not a victim, nor am I victimizing anyone by what I am saying. That you feel this way about my statement, again, speaks volumes of your own ignorance.

I would hope you didn’t pay for your miseducation. You have bought into a bunch of bullshit that makes it necessary for you to view yourself as a victim. You have the strength to get out of this mindset, but you must stop listening to the people that have taught you such lies.

I actually didn’t pay for any education. To do so, would have made of me a one dimensional person who could not think for him/herself. Education does not mean going to college and getting a degree. I guess I am informed would be a better word. I didn’t buy into bullshit, I read law books, and history books and as they say, the proof is in the pudding.

So….white people are all vapid, privileged and uneducated all at the same time? And you can make that blanket statement because somehow in our privileged ignorance we were daft enough to put systems in place to keep you down for generations?

Your Los Angeles history books must only go back to the late 60’s. Because if you had gone further back you will have read about all of the other cultures that have called this city home in the last hundred or so years. And it certainly would have shown you that change is constant, nothing lasts forever and you don’t own neighborhoods. You reside in them, hopefully buy a house in one of them and always help improve the neighborhood for the betterment of everyone living around you.

This glossing over of LA history is also very simplistic. Power affects change and their have been numerous regimes over the past 2 centuries that have contributed to the present moment. We choose not continue or accept their reverberating legacies or any such other regimes attempt to restructure or perpetuate these power structures.

First of all, I chose a silly name, as you probably chose “Moody” I never said “all white people are….(fill in the blank)” Second, Los Angeles is not a country, I asked the question clearly, “Did you not learn about this country’s history?” Yes, I am aware of the many cultures that have called Los Angeles home, beyond the 60’s. Like when California was part of a country called Mexico and Mexican’s lived here…

Change is very important and necessary but it requires becoming familiar with the past and current situation, ignorance and denial hinders any positive change.

Obviously other cultures inhabited the land. Mexicans did not run off the Chumash and Tonga people. It was the Spanish explorers in the 1500’s, Then Mexico gained its independence, which included this land. Then a few decades later the US, despite signing treaties that promised those people land, failed to deliver and displaced them. So yeah, history just keep repeating itself.

No, you got it backwards. the Mexicans ran the Chumash off in the 1800s after Mexican independence. The Rancho lands were promised to the Chumash and instead the Mexicans gave them to the wealthy…..this was after Mexican independence.

This person brings a completely valid point to the table and all you all do is attack and divert the argument. No one I know today whose been living in nela for decades and others for generation can afford to live in these neighborhoods now. You equate their struggles with those of the gentry who can’t afford to live in homes with inflated prices it’s ludicrous, but we are fighting the same system. So we ask the gentry to drop their privileges, white or otherwise, and join us in fighting for a better future where we all can peacefully cohabitate.

How do I “drop my privilege”? Your argument is all white people are by definition beneficiaries of privilege, regardless of where they come from or their incomes. Somehow, white people are “gentry.” And most people can’t afford to live in the houses their parents bought. That’s been happening since forever. That’s why we have gentrification in the first place. When my parents were young, living in The Bronx, NY, the West Village was a complete dump. No one in their right mind would live there. Now it’s some of the most expensive real estate in the country, if not THE most expensive. Yay gentrification!

This protest and throwing around terms like “white privilege” and “hipster” probably isn’t the best way to build bridges with a part of the community that would probably be sympathetic to working class displacement and systemic racism.

Most of the “gentrifiers” I know in HLP a members of ethnic minority groups, multi-racial, or in interracial relationships. The few white couples I know who live in the area are largely gay. While most of them are definitely better off financially than the longtime residents of the community, it not like any of them have not experienced some kinds of discrimination or hardships. My examples are purely anecdotal, but I do feel like it’s a general trend.

I’ve seen this mistake occur in my neighborhood downtown, and it has effectively split the neighborhood in two. Guess which side will lose out in the long term?

Besides, protests like this are outdated and ineffective. The only thing it accomplishes is wasting energy and making enemies.

Enough of this bullshit victim mentality. As a Latino I find it offensive. Quit dwelling on the past. How come you never hear Asians complaining about White privledge. A lot have come to this country and started from scratch.

I agree. Disadvantaged or not. Just f—en work hard, be a good person and have kids and teach the value of education and to work smart/hard. Thus, change the cycle from were you came from. And if your response is “what if I don’t want kids?” Then your values stay with you when you die.

If hard working, educated people are being raised then society will change as a hole no matter what race you come from. And those who choose the opposite, regardless of race, we’ll my car will always need for someone to wash it.

“Hopefully these protest bother some of you enough that you will open up a book or do some research on the history of the areas that you have overtaken –”
If you are so keen on the history of HP, you would recognize that it was not born as a low-income, barrio neighborhood. HP was once a thriving, middle-class neighborhood with vibrant retail corridors along Figueroa and York. Those storefronts housed many small, family-owned businesses, just as they do today. As HP deteriorated, the businesses changed with the neighborhood.
HP is just in the process of returning itself to the community it was originally envisioned as – a family-friendly, commuter-friendly community.
It will NEVER be a WLA or BH, but it deserves more than to be a low-income, crime-ridden barrio!
(And yes, I am a life-long, 2nd gen NELA resident and I can remember shopping on Fig with my grandma. She called it “going to the Avenue”!)

How I remember those times! Iver’s, Sees Candies (you can still see the checkered tile), Peoples for back to school duds..,.And all the shops and restaurants in between. I miss those glory days! It still is pretty run down along Fig and there’s plenty of “barrio” left so I don’t know why all these whiners are complaining. There never was that much on York and there was a lot of business turnaround (you can blame the insane LA business taxes for a lot of that). Hope the new business owners can stay afloat, but I’m sure they struggle. Time will tell, God bless us everyone.

Please tell us about the displacement of African Americans by Latinos in South Central LA.
That language of “displacement” is inherently racist. More of this race = less of that race = catastrophe
Snap out of it.
Movement of people is natural, it should be celebrated and encouraged.

It is shocking to me that immigrants and the children of immigrants have adopted the language of redneck Minutemen to speak about those “invading” and “taking over” “their” neighborhood.

If you have a problem with who gets loans protest the banksters.
But lets remember in 2004-2008 ANYONE could get a loan.
Some used the opportunity wisely, many used it stupidly.

Hispanic “anti-gentrification” activists show their hand when they bitch about “white people” but shed nary a tear for the historic black population of South Central which is in the process of being almost completely ethnically cleansed.

“Hispanic anti-gentrification” is pretty obviously just a form of hispanic chauvinism.

Wow! Excellent post “You’reallVapid”! You covered it all highlighting the beginning of the greatest economic disparity between “whites” and the others with White Flight/ Suburban Movement and tactically connected that to the now White Roosting. I will never understand fully why white people get defensive when bringing up white privilege they couldn’t have fully swallowed the bile that we live in any semblance of meritocracy. It’s like a man being defensive about his male privilege, his denial would be laughable. Then you have the younger whites being active in anti-income inequality movements like Occupy yet failing (deliberately) to make the connections between patriarchy, racism and income inequality. It’s simply too frustrating and sad to discuss.

To say white privilege is “debunked” is absurd. If anything, more and more people are finally opening their eyes to the clear truth of white privilege. Anyone who knows even a bit of U.S. history–slavery, the systematic extermination of Native Americans, Jim Crow–or has been paying attention to what is happening in the news–Travon Martin, Furgeson, MO–should see that white privilege is very real. I appreciate “You’reallVapid” for engaging in this debate and trying to explain why people’s concerns go beyond a few donut shops. (I don’t really agree with the protest, but I want to understand the feelings behind it.)

Sorry to break it to you, but yep, the concept of “white privilege” is outdated and has been debunked many times over. Peggy McIntosh’s Invisible Knapsack is worn out and doesn’t hold much of anything useful anymore.

I know it’s very important to some people to imagine that white people have it way better than everyone else. If you choose to believe that, knock yourself out, it’s a free country. But just know you’re living in your own fantasy world – and that the rest of us have no interest in living there with you.

@northerner, You are on an extreme end of the spectrum here, spouting rhetoric normally only seen on fox news, Even most whites, and certainly those who run these small businesses would agree that white privilege is very very real. By all accounts, the numbers are against you. Look at CEOs, seats in government, TPTB, etc, it’s by and large white males. The push back against the protest that is happening both in and out of this forum is that these small business people are not the enemy, and that the anger is misdirected. The people that run these business are proponents of racial equality and opened up businesses where they could afford (and afford to survive). On top of that, these businesses employ locals and cater to all races (I’ve been in them, it’s not all white people working there or frequenting them).

The bankers, the corporate PTB, and the government that those powers control is at the real root of discrimination. Very few, especially among these liberal business owners would deny white privilege. But territoriality is dangerous, staking claim to an ever changing landscape will only bring sadness in the end. We all live here, and we all have to live together. This is just dirt and concrete, it’s not yours or mine, and it’ll still be here when we’re dead and gone,

@Neighbor: I’d like to add one to your list of offenses that is very relevant: redlining. It’s no accident that there are ethnic ghettos in L.A.; they were created on purpose. It’s a long story, but lately Ta-Nehisi Coates (e.g., http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/05/the-ghetto-is-public-policy/275456/) has been very trenchant in laying out how this worked. If you have even the slightest interest in American history, his blog is fascinating.

The story is well-documented: minorities could not buy houses in nicer areas, no matter what their standing or earnings. So they had to go to other areas. But the FHA did not write loans for these areas. The only option was shady private loan outfits which wrote contracts that were very hard to fulfill.

It was only with the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968 that this started to change nationally. For an example of how this looked in California, see the history of Proposition 14. It was written to specifically *permit* racial discrimination in housing, and it passed in 1964 with 65% of the vote. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_14_(1964) ).

This blatant racism was very real, very widespread, and it was not that long ago. There’s no cause for declaring discrimination over, and the people in this thread who are trying to use this clumsy action as a way to validate their beliefs are ignorant of our history.

I don’t think that’s completely accurate. Most Lebanese whose families emigrated to Latin America don’t speak Arabic once they’re a generation or two removed from the “old country,” and many do assimilate. They may be proud of their Lebanese heritage, but they’re not waving their cedar-tree flag around and shouting, “Soy Libanes, y que?” Same with Lebanese communities in West Africa, at least, in my experience.

1) Have you talked to the tens of thousands of Latinos who bought homes in HLP? What are their thoughts on this? Will they be joining your protest? What did those Latinos do so that they could buy a house?

2) Can a Brazilian, Indian or Chinese person open up a business on York Blvd? What if it’s an Indian restaurant? Would that be culturally inviting to you?

3) When will you protest in front of Eastside Luv, Guisados, etc. in Boyle Heights? How are those businesses better than the ones on York in terms of their economic impact on the surrounding neighborhood? Won’t Chipsters (Chicano Hipsters) have the same negative effects on the poor as white Hipsters?

4) When will you start protesting the thousands of Latino businesses opening up in South LA? Are those businesses culturally sensitive to the African Americans in those neighborhoods?

5) Can a third generation Latino buy a house or open a businesses in HLP? What about a rich Chilango?

6) What if middle class Latinos started buying houses in Bolye Heights (instead of fleeing to the suburbs like whites did in the 60’s)? Would their impact on the poor be less than that of middle class white people?

7) Does intimidating small businesses serve any purpose? Will people be scared of opening new businesses on York? Have you considered other ways to tackle the issue? Like protesting for more housing in LA? Or fixing LAUSD so that students can actually graduate with some basic skills?

8) Can you provide us with examples of mass evictions of renters in HLP?

So says “Maracas”. Are you a musician in a calypso group? Or simply a juvenile race-baiter?You’re so stupid, you can’t even get your stereotypes straight and THIS is what we’re being asked to accept? Chale con pinche “Maracas”.

Even teenagers have a better understanding of the social geography in their neighborhood than yourself. My friends here have a far more sophisticated analysis that is fueled by their urgency to not be victims to gentrification, at the same time not equating that into being opportunist/ capitalist.

This is totally misguided and barely disguised racism.
Where were these guys when McDonald’s and other diabetes inducing CORPORATE restaurants moved into the community? Where are the eviction notices for all the predatory lending ‘check cashing’ places? What about Target and Home Depot killing all the mom and pop shops?
On the other end of the spectrum, what exactly did they do to deter gang activity (including extortion of local businesses?), Drugs? Graffiti?
Instead they declare a Kristallnacht on supposedly ‘hipster’ businesses (AKA anyone who is white, skinny jeans or no), whose only crime is starting a small craft business wherein they care about the products they are selling. They have revitalized and cleaned up the area. They employ locals and treat their employees 1000% better than a big box store who doesn’t give two shits about, nor is invested in, the neighborhood.

And btw if the neighborhood fascists had an attack plan that wasn’t dreamt up by an 8 year old, they would have gone to the root root of their issue (Hint: It’s not the pizza place).; the property owners who rented to the small businesses, the shady real estate speculators who are buying up all the property, and the developers who keep churning out Orsinis and ‘Art ‘Lofts.

We can’t fight the corporations when we have to continually struggle against the petit-bourgeois. You are all the foot soldiers to corporate capitalism when you buy houses, store fronts, and rent those orsini lofts. It’s the ever perpetuating classic of one class’s privilege and liberties coming at the expense and exploitation of the working class. Btw I used to live in a one bedroom apartment with my parents and three siblings at an apartment that stood right where orsini towers stand today.

Where in my comment did I ever mention any of those words. I would never use a good bad argument. If you can’t follow my actual logic please don’t infer and put words in my mouth that I would never advocate.

@displaced whiner, I’m not down with these protesters, but as I read these comments, your racially-coded jokes and insensitive remarks keep coming up, and they’re not funny. Not all Latinos are into rims, and even if we were, who the f’ cares? There are rampant status symbols in every culture–I mean I see a lot of white males driving BMWs around LA, and they have pretty nice rims….But that’s beside the point, the real point is that you’re reducing people to these dumb stereotypes and dismissing their concerns (I mean being dismissed from your neighborhood is a valid concern even if it’s pretty inevitable) because their interests don’t align with yours. Rise above, dude.

Then stop fighting the wrong people and start joining forces with them in fighting the big box corporations. What do you think is the whole point of opening a small business with quality, hand made goods?

Just because you’re not man enough to take on the real enemy, doesn’t mean others aren’t. But go ahead an tilt and windmills while the chains move in and crush these “petit bourgeoisie”.

Maybe your parents would not have to live in a one bedroom apartment with 4 children if they exercised simple birth control. Maybe if they acted responsibly and only had the number of children they could afford they would actually be able to afford a house and you wouldn’t have this huge chip on your shoulder? Viva la raza.

Is it too much to ask – drop the “gentrification” and HP being rescued by gentrifiers! Instead, can we look at the recent changes to HP as people of diverse backgrounds, who elect to move in and hopefully compliment or improve the community.

For those of us who have lived here over 50 years, HP is home! Through the good and bad times! Our property values did go up and continue to climb! That’s fantastic! For many who chose to leave the community before property values went up…they can’t buy in HP any longer. And, yes, rents are climbing! Rents will continue to increase. It’s the nature of the beast of “capitalism.”

Amen! Been here my whole life and watched as the children of my neighbors have gotten married, graduated college, joined the military and have left and made lives in other cities and states. That is progress, few people stay put in the neighborhoods that they were raised. Besides, a lot of us oldtimers are tired of taking care of these big properties and are looking to sell. And why shouldn’t we get the prices that are being offered? If some nice new family wants to raise a family here, great. My old house was here before me and will remain here long after I’m gone, sheltering all who cross these doors, regardless of color. Lets not hate!

Very good comment. We have been here for 30 years and have seen the changes as young art students to joining the working world and buying our first home. We had 5 jobs between the two of us to make this happen. We were able to become involved with our community and really make a difference.

That’s the fundamental point here. The protesters should back off and think about what the real problem is. Hint: it’s not new pizza restaurants.

You could point to several things: (1) Eviction of renters in properties not covered by LA’s existing rent control ordinance; (2) Displacement of businesses who operate in leased spaces due to rising rents; (3) Dilution of the voice of long-term residents due to more vocal/demanding new arrivals who want problems fixed; (4) A feeling that too much is changing too fast.

You could also point to *non-problems*, which include: (1) Rising property values resulting in empty-nesters cashing out; (2) New businesses displacing essentially vacant storefronts.

Some of these things can be addressed, and some can’t. Almost nobody will support rent control for businesses, and people don’t really care that too much is changing too fast. LA is a city, a young city, that has historically been very un-romantic about creative destruction. Tenant rent control, unionization, making sure that existing residents initiate and are included in business opportunities, and preserving architecture and historic infrastructure — that should definitely be on the agenda.

I don’t see that stuff in the list of grievances, and that’s a missed opportunity. Until you get serious, you will be mocked for substituting childish gestures for meaningful actions. You can ride this wave or be overcome by it.

I’ve brought up Limited Equity Trusts and Housing Co-operatives in prior discussions on this topic. Both of these legal tools help preserve affordable housing and stop the cycle of speculative real estate investment. This is especially important in the larger multi-family properties in NELA and the commercial buildings with artists and other renters who cannot afford rents that would cover a new owners loan payments.

That the City use its affordable housing money to buy properties and convert them into limited equity trusts and help residents establish co-ops or some other management structure.

Either that or local people pool their money and fundraise to buy buildings to do the same thing without public money.

Limited equity trusts make it so that residents get locked in affordability (paying for maintenance and taxes with nothing extra going to banks or landlords) and prevent speculative re-sale of housing. It essentially removes property from the commodity-style housing market.

I agree in principle but I just don’t see that working in the Los Angeles we have today. It is very hard to build in LA, even along under-developed commercially zoned corridors in the heart of the city.

It’s called “supply and demand”! If you are a homeowner, it’s good for you because people are buying and fixing up homes and it just makes your home equity better. If you are a renter, you may be getting squeezed out because rents get higher as the neighborhood’s desirability gets better.
Those folks protesting are basically saying, yeah, I live in the barrio and “the man” is taking it from me! BS!, it’s just the evolution of the neighborhood. It used to be nice and desirable, it went down, and now is rising again. HP is just returning to its own roots!
My husband and I have lived in NELA all of our lives, and my parents grew up here too. I am more than happy to see a revival of HP and welcome the addition of viable retail businesses and restaurants serving more than tacos and burritos!

It’s true that the gentrification of HP has been shocking in its speed. In one year, there have been something like ten new businesses. I can understand that it must be unsettling to people who have lived here for decades with very little change, and suddenly they don’t recognize their own neighborhood. We can empathize with those people while still rejecting calls to somehow stifle change. The good news is that if you failed to buy in HP while it was still relatively cheap, and can no longer afford to live there, you have learned a valuable lesson. You now have the choice of moving to the next soon to be gentrified neighborhood and buying property, so that in five to ten years, you will be the beneficiary of change. There are no victims here. God bless America!

This argument is really between the people who bought homes and the renters who didn’t try to improve their economic status. Sour grapes. Sorry ,you snooze you lose. Should have bought a house when prices were cheap. Don’t blame us for working hard and making the right decisions.

” I would love to have seen the civil rights movement work and force everyone, especially white people, to start from scratch and see just how they would navigate and thrive through the same conditions everyone else has had to work around”

Gentrification and white privilege are real issues, but I fail to see what these protesters wish to accomplish by putting on luchador masks and insulting neighbors and small businesses making positive investments in their neighborhood (who doesn’t like pizza and ice cream?)

Take off the masks and go to some neighborhood council meetings if you’re worried about displacement… this is not helping, but building more housing might?

Maybe these kind of terrorist scare tactics are effective in places that are inherently corrupt at their core, like Mexico, but it comes of as misdirected asinine rage at small businesses that are by and large changing the environment and neighborhood for the better.

I see this protest more as a street art performance than anything. Its just over the top and outlandish, nothing they did really made much sense they’re tactics were never going to solve anything. but they did spark a discussion about their issues. However it was done in such poor taste and so confrontational that the issue was lost and the whole discussion became a white/gentrification/us vs. them talk with everyone just pointing fingers at eachother screaming racist or privileged.
There is an honest issue here about displacement but I think it lies more with government, policy, history, policing than it does with new residents and or businesses. It’s easy to blame the people out at the cafe but honestly they’re not the problem, and you’ll never solve anything by blaming them. If anything you need them to back your up and together as a community you can push for policy/real change that will help the underprivileged and prevent displaced.

Let me take a minute to explain myself. I am Latino yes, but I am not a bigot or a racist and I try actively not to be even though sometimes I do slip and forget to check my privilege, its a daily struggle. I like most people who are genuine, intelligent, and also very conscious of their place in the world. I have the same wants and desires as most of you. My family has a deep history of moving back and forth from Mexico and LA, sometimes by choice, sometimes not. My parents were finally the ones who decided to stay because they were able to carve a niche themselves, thus I was born here and associate more with my LA roots. Not only my parents, but my entire extend family has a history and a connection with NELA, this has always been where their migratory passages have kept them. My parents have been working the same job for decades now with hardly ever a pay increase, no benefits and no vacation. Why? For me and my siblings and it worked because we were able to work hard, go to school, and be considered educated. My parents kept their noses down, never complained, allowed themselves and their children to be disciplined into comforting to the roles assigned them and yet the American dream is still unattainable. My sister makes more than my two parents combined and still can’t afford a house in our neighborhood. I am a product of the public school system, lausd, that not many kids like myself were able to get out off unscathed. A public school system that has had to combat constant budget cuts and overcrowding. NELA just became popular and for many of us, this is disturbing, because no one ever gave a shit or more realistically had ever heard of it besides us. I advocate for more community land trusts in LA (research it), more opportunity for community, and not only smart growth, but growth with a lean towards social justice. I would never advocate for making neighborhoods exclusive, in fact quite the opposite, I want to make sure NELA is open for all folks regardless of class, creed, or color.

I bought my house in 05′ working as a union plumber and working on weekends on the side. If you lived in NELA all your life then why didn’t you or your family buy a house when they were cheap. My sister-in-law bought a house in Highland Park in 98′ for 120,000. And you know who didn’t give a shit about this place before? The newly arrived residents who moved in here during the 80s and 90s. That’s when this place really started going to shit.

There are thousands of well educated Mexican – American property owners, commercial and residential landlords, and astute real estate manipulators in Southern California. There are also thousands of “white” people in rent stabilized apartments out of which they cannot afford to move. Others are bought out by landlords for the going rates and waste the funds. Most white people are economically unsophisticated and can’t get out of there own way. They may be squatting in a van down the street from you. They have squandered any educational opportunity or “privilege” to which they may have had access. Don’t you run into white folks who are dumber than you all the time? It’s about economic class and members of all ethnic groups rise towards the top. Don’t be simplistic or we may think you didn’t take your education seriously.

Highland Park has seen several waves of this style of investment. In the early 2000’s, it was the next place until the housing bust in 2007.

Prices dropped dramatically, thousands of families lost their homes to foreclosure and short sale but many had cashed out the value of their property in second and third mortgages.

Investment in the area picked up in 2011 and has been steadily building ever since. Some people and places have adapted, others have remained much the same and the overall feel of the area remains much as it has been for decades.

Yes it started becoming unaffordable after 2012. It was very affordable the prior 3 years.
The last 25 years I have watched 3 boom and 2 bust cycles where median prices shot up as high as 550s and as low as 160s.
Houses were very cheap in the mid 90s and early 2010s.
All this house remodeling and flipping gives work to tens of thousands of Latino workers in the building trades. I would prefer if we built new units instead of yuppifying existing ones but the building code makes it unprofitable to build anything affordable.

We really need to get moving trying to establish community land trusts in this community. Not just for residential parcels – but for a couple of commercial buildings as well. This legal structure gives people of lesser means the ability to build social capital and try different small business ideas.

Definitely – that is how it works when people do it in LA and other cities. They start small – maybe a four-plex split four ways. The EcoVillage in LA (sorry to use the same example over and over again) owns a bunch of buildings after about 20 years in operation. It took a while, but they were able to save up, fundraise, and I think borrow from a local credit union to make things happen.

The point you guys keep trying to make about not being able to afford the neighborhood you grew up in is just going to keep falling on deaf ears man. It’s capitalism.

I can’t afford the house I grew up in New Jersey of all places, and my wife and I can’t begin to afford the places she grew up in in San Pedro or Pales Verdes, but you don’t see us protesting the new owners. The economics of places change and all you’re doing is standing athwart history yelling Stop!

The fact that an uncomfortable amount of your arguments could basically be recycled from white flight in the 70s isn’t helping your case much.

It seems the issue putting people into a state of alarm in HLP is related to increases in rent and a certain ignorance on renter’s rights. Call me a Latina golden girl, but I must tell you of when I was a 20 year old in Highland Park at a time when gangs were out of control. I was a college student at the time and a sociology major. A project I was assigned in one of my classes to do directed that I seek out the powerbrokers in my community. Well, I found them. They included my local councilman and his deputies, The Highland Park Heritage Trust (die hard advocates for the community since 1985 is it?), Blend(Business Law Enforcement Northeast Division) Group, Kiwanis Club, among others. What I learned was eye opening as I learned to interact with the powers that were, to keep tabs on what the community issues are through all these sources, and to take on an active role in defining problems, organizing, researching, and communicating with the powerbrokers and explore solutions to effect positive change for what was a community on the road to ruin. I helped in the work to effect policy so that positive change can come to the community. My involvement was KEY. Historic preservation, anti-gang/graffiti, and eye sore clean up was my mission.. So I would like the Northeast Alliance group to rethink their strategy as it does little to insult new business owners and our new neighbors.. The issue is with Landlords interfering with your American Dream. Define what you want, how does it look, how soon do you need it to happen, and get your petitions and signatures in order. Then start dialogue with your councilperson. In the meantime the Tenant Rights workshop sounds great!

The Councilman for much of Highland Park (Cedillo) doesn’t care about this. He lives in a downtown highrise, makes a quarter million a year, helps his son get hired for a job that he’s not qualified for (also paying 6 figures) and could care less about the local politics. He’s basically an old line, gangster style politician that hopes to be a congressman one day to really rake in the cheddar from oil companies while claiming to represent La Raza.

You might find some luck with Huizar since it’s an election year and I’m certain Ms. Molina will have some thoughts and opinions but it will be 100% lip service because none of them have any real control of this situation.

The HPOZ actually had a weird counter effect of keeping hundreds of homes from being renovated for decades because the red tape of LADBS was too much for most owners to deal with. Now that more capital is coming in and ignoring those rules (I’m pointing at Las Casas and their shit remodels done without permits or following the HPOZ rules).

The rent control laws puts tremendous power in tenants hands but if a tenant is paying $300 per month under market, paying them $20,000 to move all of a sudden becomes a no brainer in the eyes of investors with money to spend. So for all the protections in place, they end up being temporary dikes that get completely steamrolled by the rising prices of Los Angeles in general. Prices of homes in the area look favorable when compared to most of the surrounding areas and that attracts people with more money.

I feel like, instead of using LA Housing Department money (of which there is a sizeable chunk sitting in the bank) to build “affordable housing”, that this money should go to buying existing properties and establishing numerous limited equity trusts and facilitating their management as either co-ops or some other governing structure. Limited equity trust lock-in affordable housing – there is no middle man and money paid as “rent” goes straight into maintenance and reserves with no need to increase “rents”, ever. In East Hollywood the co-operatively organized EcoVillage tenants are paying 1/2 or 1/3 of the local rents because their trust owns the land and they only cover taxes and maintenance costs (most of which members of the collective can do themselves).

They can afford to be hippies and live their lives as they see fit, attend numerous meetings, start things like the Bike Kitchen and CicLAvia (two projects I know about) because they aren’t throwing their money at some landlord and bank every month. They also have a strong incentive to put down roots, as selling their stake in the trust only brings them back what they put in – no profit motive to sell and move on.

This is probably too complicated of an idea to ever truly happen, but these kinds of trusts have been shown to work in a variety of cities in America. They lock in affordability and have no political fallout that “City of LA New Affordable Housing Complex! Coming to a parcel near you!” does.

Santa Barbara has an affordable housing program they started decades ago. Builders had to set a side a few units in subdivisions they built to be affordable; and be part of this program. Basically it works like this: you buy the home for a very below-marlet price determined by the city. when you sell it, you choose the buyer as any seller does, but the city determines the price. Owners do end up making a profit. but nowhere what they would make at a regular market rate home. the plus side is that ‘working class’ people can afford to buy in neighborhoods they never could otherwise.

Well, that sounds kind of … great? But also really silly. Providing a variety of housing styles and living arrangements can really help make a neighborhood a delightful place to live. I think, in the case of the EcoVillage that they have done a pretty good job showing some of what these types of communities can do (albeit with a crunchy granola flavor which definitely puts people off). There are plenty of examples from other cities of limited equity trusts doing similar amounts of good without needing the “Eco” part to make the Village work well.

There were many non profit coops in NYC, often financed by the large public employee unions and others. If you left you got your buy in plus interest back. my mother-in-law lived in one in Coney Island. Strong bases off middle income residents. haven’t found much of it in the wild west. I’ve never heard of EcoVillage but it sounds right.

Neighborhoods change and nobody has a right to live in any neighborhood. I understand the frustration of not being able to afford where you grew up, but most people experience this. I know I did. The solution is to buy a home. If that’s not possible, then the drawbacks of renting (rent increases) are only fair. If you don’t like it, move to San Bernardino, Texas, Oregon, wherever. I’m frustrated that I can’t afford a home in my childhood community, but ultimately I bought a small place in Highland Park because LA is where I found work and continuing to rent is a losing prospect in the long run. Life doesn’t always give you what you want but the solutions aren’t protesting businesses that aren’t to your taste, vilifying new people, and victimization.

The small Mom & Pop businesses are creating jobs and revenue for our community and city. Most of these protestors are younger people that are not aware of the importance of what these small business investments have contributed to our communities. Places like Cafe de Leche employs local young people and create a great product and gathering place for the community. The Schodorfs get involved in supporting local causes and help in fundraising for our many non-profits and schools.

The York, Elsa’s Bakery, The Highland Cafe and so many others have brought a community base into our struggling Boulevard and have helped revitalize our commercial infrastructure to a more vibrant district. I am proud of the evolution of our community and am confident that we will continue to grow and provide a thriving area with commerce and community spirit.

The small Mom & Pop businesses are creating jobs and revenue for our community and city. Most of these protestors are younger people that are not aware of the importance of what these small business investments have contributed to our communities. Places like Cafe de Leche employs local young people and create a great product and gathering place for the community. The Schodorfs get involved in supporting local causes and help in fundraising for our many non-profits and schools.

The York, Elsa’s Bakery, The Highland Cafe and so many others have brought a community base into our struggling Boulevard and have helped revitalize our commercial infrastructure to a more vibrant district. I am proud of the evolution of our community and am confident that we will continue to grow and provide a thriving area with commerce and community spirit.

I agree with You’reAllVapid in that we really should properly definine what racism is vs. relatively harmless prejudice. I also agree that White Privilege is a lens through which we should examine neighborhood changes. These are fundamental elements of this conversation.

That being said, here is a personal anecdote. One I cannot resolve with the over-simplifaction of either side of this question.

I am white. So is my wife and 4 year old daughter. We have never had much money and have always lived in very mixed, usually non-white-majority neighborhoods, in various cities.

A couple years ago, through blood sweat and tears, we managed to scramble up enough for a down payment on a house, if we could find something remotely affordable in L.A.

Highland Park made sense, because, a. it is a wonderful hood with working class roots, artistic flavor, beautiful hills, etc etc. b. geographically it fit our working needs, and c. it was remotely possible to find something we could afford.

Of course, affordability, even for those of us with White Privilege, was fleeting. We bought probably the last decent deal in HLP, and then only because it was an As-Is fixer beast. The woman who sold it to us made out like a bandit.

So, here we are, first time homeowners in HLP. We shop locally. Hardware from Garvanza. Weekend sweet treats from la Perla Bakery, I get my hipster bike worked on at Raffi’s. Always support the local businesses that have been here and are the rock that this neighborhood was built on. Full dislosure: we get donuts from Donut Friend and buy second hand clothes at Bearded Beagle, and yes, food from Trader Joes.

we pour every last cent we have into making our modest home livable. The woman we bought from, a long time resident, got to sell for a huuuuuuuuge profit without even having to do the standard things one needs to do to sell.

We are friends with our neighbors, White, Mexican, Chinese. Homeowners and renters alike. Our healthy property taxes go back into the community.

Community starts with unity and in my opinion, your gearing towards the right intent. I think it is important to acknowledge that there will always be a problems, instead, ask to be part of the solution. I invite you to the Tenant’s Rights Workshop at Arroyo Secco Library on Thursday.
We invite you to join us, there is room for everyone.

(LoL) True Freedom, You Just Got SERVED, Homie, A todo dar y a la brava! Do you finally get it? Who the real insufferable whiners truly are? The unvarnished truth hurts like a b*tch, don’t it? Brave New Voices Rocks!

. . . but the moral of the message is that EVERYone is invited to be a part of our righteous cause. Never mind that it’s been initiated by people who happened to be less-than-white. Choose to be a part of the solution or be targeted as the problem regardless of what skin color you happen to be . . . Get It?

Yes, you will always be a part of the problem according to many ethnic chauvinists who will always have a problem with white people.

To them, you will still have “white privilege” even when you and your kids are a minority in this city. Even when the city council is majority non-white. Even when the police force is majority non-white. Even when whites are under-represented in every branch of city government.

You will still have “white privilege” when your kids can’t go to the local neighborhood school because LA’s public schools are so un-diverse that you don’t want your kid to be bullied for standing out like a sore thumb. Your kids also can’t go to the local neighborhood school because over half of the kids there are struggling to learn english, and your white child will end up sitting in a corner doing nothing day after day.

And so you will send your kid to a charter school where you will still be called privileged for fleeing the public school system. You will be called privileged even though the charters are far more racially diverse than the average neighborhood school. You will also be called privileged even though you will have to fund raise like crazy to pay for the school facility out of money which neighborhood schools get to use for instruction and salaries. Yep, that’s right – you get the privilege of paying for public school, you white privileged white person!

You will still have “white privilege” when there are demonstrations in the street which accuse you of being an outsider and a racist for just trying to buy property where you can afford it, despite the whole system telling you that you need to move to the big cities if you want a decent job. Or, like a lot of white people in this city, you will be priced out of owning a house – you’re still privileged though, don’t forget it!

You will still have “white privilege” when Asian families are making more than white families and when Asian kids are overrepresented in the state school system and white kids are underrepresented. You will still be privileged when whites are underrepresented in tech jobs and Asians overrepresented.

I could go on.

The truth is there is no such thing as “white privilege” anymore – at least not in the way that white 1970s hippie lefty baby boomers defined the term.

So you have a choice – you can keep saying you have something you don’t so as to appease all the people who want to beat up on you for being white, or you can just tell them to eff off.

They’re going to hate on you anyway, so it doesn’t make any difference!

Damn straight! And just to defend my Asian brothers and sisters out there (I’m not Asian), I have never once heard an Asian person complain about white privilege. They just go out there and get it done.

Sorry brother, but the numbers are entirely against you. Even most whites can now recognize and admit white privilege. It’s much more out in the open due to mass media than it was in the 70s so you’re really lost on that one.

Even if (when) whites become the minority, if the money and the power still rests overwhelmingly in the hands of white men, “white privilege” will still be alive and well.

Your comment about schools has nothing to do with white privilege, it has to do with forced segregation and underfunding of non-white education. If you send your kid there, yes, you find out what other races have been going through from this county’s inception (and to think that we’re a lot better than we used to be!).

And as I wrote to you above, even these white business owners wouldn’t deny white privilege. Both they, and (most) others on this forum are not denying that. What they are stating is that TPTB, big corporations (both foreign and domestic), the predatory bank practices, and a bought gov’t are a common enemy that we all share. The anger is legit, it’s just completely misdirected.

You need to crawl out of Mayberry brother, white privilege still runs this country (even with a 1/2 black president).

Many south asians(Indian immigrants/well educated) have it easier; many Arabs have it easier. Many Brazilian have it easier. Many Argentines have it easier. Do you know why they have it easier? It’s not about ethnicity. It about skills/education.

The nature of the world’s economy has changed since the first wave of European immigrants set foot on North America. The economy once upon time needed a ton of unskilleld labor from Europe. Today, we need educated/skilled labor. Those people have it easier.

I get the fear. Massive displacement, de-localization of business – these are legitimate things to be worried about. I have lived in places where displacement has been horrible – Chicago was the worst. And no one wants chain stores and the like taking over the boulevard – New York City identity is dissapearing under the corporate plastic whitewash. But what is happening in HLP certainly does not seem like Chicago or New York. First off, it is not a rental-heavy market compared to Chicago. In Highland Park you have predominantly single-family homes or low-income apartment buildings. If renters are being displaced as people sell their houses, well, thats unfortunate, but more than balanced out by the fact that the person who bought that house years and years ago just walked away with a fortune. The low-income apartments are not raising their rents and thus driving out tenants; no ‘yuppie’ or ‘hipster’ is going to want to live in these apartments without massive upgrades. And these buildings are not ‘flippable’ in the same way single-family houses are. So, as far as displacement goes, HLP sure does not seem to be too heavy on this terrible aspect of ‘gentrification’. Now, some businesses are indeed being displaced. This is a negative. Commercial space has gotten expensive to rent and is now going through the roof. But again, for all the hard-working people who bought a little house, lets say on Figueroa corridor a long time ago, what do you think the more robust business district is doing to the value of their homes? Does this effect balance out the mom and pop shop that was priced out? How about the more stable long-time businesses that are seeing massive uptick in business now? There are indeed negative aspects to change. But, the negative aspects I am seeing in Highland Park are relatively benign compared to other ‘gentrification’ pushes I have seen – and, frankly, the ‘new’ and ‘old’ seem to be weaving together fairly harmoniously, masked protests aside.

For those concerned about gentrification, the ENTIRE city is being gentrified. Not just Highland Park. And lets face reality – life is getting more expensive EVERYWHERE. It’s just happen in HIghland Park. I would also agree with that one commenter stating that education is the way out. If people want higher paying jobs, learn the language. It makes a big difference in being able to find a better paying job than cleaning someone’s home for a living. Downtown Los Angeles has been totally gentrified, and its not about kicking out Latinos or blacks. It’s just Angelenos need a place to live – an affordable place. Everyone EVERYWHERE has been priced out – including whites themselves. The reason why *White* people are moving into HIghland Park is because they’ve been priced out of Silverlake and Echo Park. So yeah, gentrification works within the race as well. And if you want to talk about history, white people were displaced by the Latino community within the city. White people are simply returning to the city core. Latinos need to stop being racist, and learn to live with a different culture. And yes, that means cafes, new restaurants, new shopping destinations. It’s happening everywhere you go, in most parts of L.A. Don’t take it personal. If you don’t like it, I suggest leaving L.A. for a smaller town in the Inland Empire. You should be safe.

I think that mixed neighborhoods are the best! I love that one day I can have pancakes for breakfast and then incredible antojitos for lunch and then Vietnamese food for dinner -all within a few blocks. Who wants to have the same stuff over and over all the time. The true American melting pot is so great for all of us.

Not saying that. Let me get my Broken Spears decoder ring for ya. If you are a poor Mexican, HP is the place. We like our LA RAZA on LA RAZA crime. We yearn for the good old days of cheap rent and gang shootings. I enjoy being smashed in a one bedroom apartment with ten other family members. That’s HP way.

Too many freshman who just took a chicano 100 course at some JC. Taught by some professor who has no understanding of economics.

“Please point me to the “thousands of Latino small business owners” and the “Latino CEO” so that I can ask them.”

Also, the richest man in the world is Latino. Although he made his money from the monopolization of the telecommunications industry in Latin America something U.S. laws could not stop. Yet U.S. laws didn’t stop Bill Gates either. Nevertheless, and argument for another day, or blog.

Will You all join me in protesting the Mexican taco shops in Compton for their inability to open a Soul Food/BBQ joints?
I’ll be wearing a Guy Fawkes mask and using horrible spelling and poor punctuation on my signs .
Should be a hoot.

1) Have you talked to the tens of thousands of Latinos who bought homes in HLP? What are their thoughts on this? Will they be joining your protest? What did those Latinos do so that they could buy a house?

2) Can a Brazilian, Indian or Chinese person open up a business on York Blvd? What if it’s an Indian restaurant? Would that be culturally inviting to you?

3) When will you protest in front of Eastside Luv, Guisados, etc. in Boyle Heights? How are those businesses better than the ones on York in terms of their economic impact on the surrounding neighborhood? Won’t Chipsters (Chicano Hipsters) have the same negative effects on the poor as white Hipsters?

4) When will you start protesting the thousands of Latino businesses opening up in South LA? Are those businesses culturally sensitive to the African Americans in those neighborhoods?

5) Can a third generation Latino buy a house or open a businesses in HLP? What about a rich Chilango?

6) What if middle class Latinos started buying houses in Bolye Heights (instead of fleeing to the suburbs like whites did in the 60’s)? Would their impact on the poor be less than that of middle class white people?

7) Does intimidating small businesses serve any purpose? Will people be scared of opening new businesses on York? Have you considered other ways to tackle the issue? Like protesting for more housing in LA? Or fixing LAUSD so that students can actually graduate with some basic skills?

8) Can you provide us with examples of mass evictions of renters in HLP?

My husband and I bought a small commercial building on York last year. The non-English speaking Latino family from whom we purchased the building profited over 600K from the sale. There are many other Latino-owned commercial buildings and residential homes in Highland Park. They will profit greatly from the new businesses in the neighborhood. To assume that Latinos in the area are all impoverished is its own type of prejudice.

Our building has already been tagged and our handyman was held up at gunpoint off of York. We also witnessed a fellow business owner on York, someone who has been in the neighborhood before gentrification, cut down one of the newly-planted street trees so that he might be able to offload his vehicle more easily. THIS business owner is BAD FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD. This pre-gentirification business owner has zero respect for Highland Park and its residents. These are the problems in the neighborhood, not the new business owners and smalltime landlords.

Maybe the tree was bad for his part of the neighborhood. Was he asked if the planned location of the new tree would interfere with his business? Now that you own a commercial building on York would you expect to be consulted as to whether a planned alteration would interfere with your business?

The tree was planted in front of OUR business and building. He parks his truck for loading and off-loading in front of OUR business. He regularly puts traffic cones in the PUBLIC metered parking spot to dissuade others from parking in that particular spot that isn’t even in front of his business. He also uses a fake handicapped placard. Sorry, but this guy is bad for the neighborhood. Selfish.

Even though the tree that was planted would have some day blocked the front of our business, we viewed the tree as good for the whole community. We never complained to our neighbor about his truck blocking the front of our business, nor did we complain about the traffic cones he puts up to block the one parking spot in front of our business. Nor did we report him for using a fake handicapped placard, which to me, is one of the most selfish things one can do.

Why did we not report or confront him on all of these selfish actions? Because WE are invested in the community and getting along with our neighbors. WE are willing to overlook the small things in the interest of bettering the community as a whole. We had no interest in trivial arguments about parking spots. We load and offload in that very spot when his truck isn’t parked there. We worked around the tree just fine.

Judging by the unprecedented number of posts on this article, it’s obvious that this protest has struck just the right nerve. Count Me In. I will be checking in on future protests and I’m no timid dishwasher or accommodating gardener either. It’s time that we determined the future of our community and dictated terms to the outsiders only interested in exploiting it.

Listen you, quit claiming to represent the community as a whole because you don’t. Not all of us are complaining that HP is starting to resemble the glory that it once was, or are you even old enough to remember. Have some respect, if not for yourself than for the rest of us who feel safe walking these streets for the first time in years. I mean, seriously homeboy what the hell is the matter with you – do you think you’re going to make everyone go away? Are you going to resort to violence to force out home and business owners? Or are you just going to just yell on the street corner like an idiot? You don’t have a lot of options here and some might even be illegal, so I’d be very careful if I were you because the first one that’s gonna thump on you is all of us whose future stability you’re trying to shake. That goes for you too Luis Whatsyourface..

The “glory that it once was”(?). WTF are you babbling about? HP has never been more than a sleepy working-class suburb of NELA. I KNOW because I practically grew up there visiting family and enjoying barbecues and birthday parties at Sycamore and Arroyo Parks, watching movies at the Eagle and Eagle Rock Plaza, and getting my first haircut on York, etc. Spare me your hyper-sentimental pap and attempts to already revise history. Not on my watch.

What’s pathetic is that even though one of the signs explicitly refers to the “working class”, so many of you insecure whiners insist on making it about race(?), which only reinforces the suspicion that race is at the heart of the gentrifying agenda.

A more accurate way to put it is that people aren’t buying the “working class” justification for what is at its heart racist xenophobia.

How can I prove this? Easy. Look at who most of the people are moving into NELA over the past decade. Are they incredibly wealthy “elitists?” No. By LA standards they are mostly middle class folks or at best, upper middle class folks. In other words, hardly oppressors of the “working class.”

There have ALWAYS been whites in NELA. Especially Highland Park. In fact, the HP gang was originally formed by white roughnecks who came from the same working-class families. The depth of ignorance on these boards is like shooting deer caught in headlights.

The “old skool” local residents are all more than welcome to take out their own SBA loans and show the new people what a successful local economy that keeps “the interest of the community” at heart actually looks like.

Great point! That building is an insult to the entire neighborhood, old and new. There was a huge outcry about how ugly and insulting it was so finally, after weeks of complaints, Starbucks “promised” to refurbish the architecture and everyone quieted down. Since then not a damn thing has been done to improve that ugly prison yard shithole.
We should be protesting Starbucks and other large corporations who come into our neighborhood and treat it with compete contempt not a startup pizza or ice cream joint employing locals.

@proper dos : In a previous post, you noted that I got “served”. Served what, might I ask? Now that the sale is sufficiently in the past, I can clue you in to one of the reasons I have been active on some of the NELA social media outlets: I was looking for places to invest in real estate. To me, Highland Park is a fantastic place to invest: Up and coming, great location (better than some of the other, even more already gentrified areas), Gold Line, low traffic, cool streets like York and Fig that will only get better, some great housing stock that needs a little TLC, reasonable prices (relative to other gentrifying areas, and alot of upside IMHO).

So, I’ve already purchased a SFR, improved the property and found a solid renter. I’m now in the market for a multi-unit dwelling, 2-4 units that is especially run down. I like improving properties, which in turn, improves the neighborhood.

So, Proper Dos, you can “flex your muscles” or “chin check” people all you want, but the fact is HLP is changing. It is improving with more diversity in income levels, ethnicities, occupations, restaurants, shopping, etc. The people who truly care about building communities will embrace their new neighbors and the new neighbors will embrace their new environs. You, and folks like you, will only be left behind.

Speaking of behind, the only “squeaking gerbils” you’ll leave in your “wake” are the ones exiting your butt.

True Freedom, I’ve got shocking news for you . . . I’M THE SOLE OWNER of several properties in NELA. In fact, my extended family has been flipping/hoarding properties in L.A. since the 50s. More out of necessity than for profit. I secured my share in the 90s. While marshmallows like you were running for the hills I fearlessly anticipated that my $150K-180K purchases would at least double in my lifetime. Boy was I wrong (lol). Conversely, you’re buying at the height of the market, like a rookie, and avoiding South L.A. like a coward. Meanwhile, I’m neither eager to increase rents and don’t plan to ever sell in my lifetime. What I do feel is that the quality of my life in NELA is being severely compromised by the replacement of local businesses that catered to the simple needs of working-class people with exclusive boutiques, countless bars, and pretentious cafes that only seek profit NOT a sense of community. I’m also increasingly resentful of the class of bigoted marshmallows who love to act belligerent online but who “coincidentally” would NEVER Dare share the same opinions in public or to our faces. Btw, I’m also college educated, well-traveled, an informed voter, AND proudly Chicano ( i.e., American+), which is contrary to the various stereotypes saturating this message board. Also, being a truly native Angeleno, I’ve got vast personal experience among and have no problems with any race or ethnicity. In fact, it’s interesting to note how a class-based protest is the source of all the racial-anxiety being expressed by obvious transplants on this message board (FYI: there is no equivalent of the KKK in Mexico where class has been the historical source of social conflict). As a result, many of you have exposed yourselves as closet bigots. Mission Accomplished! You know, I can recall a similar situation unfolding in South L.A. in the 80s and early 90s when Korean businesses also felt that they could successfully exploit (NOT invest in) a community on the cheap and only for profit. One brutal riot later, they learned the importance of sound business practices like common courtesy, respect for the community, and the folly of racial prejudice. Not their fault. That’s what people like You taught them. Anyway and interestingly enough, there was no rioting in NELA back then due in large part to the same “gangbangers” that are regularly disparaged on these boards. They were not down with destroying their own barrios and imposed strict control against any such activities. But what will happen when they and everyone else no longer feels they have any interest in their neighborhoods? Fortunately and IMO, gentrification is just a trend that will die out soon enough. I’m already reading posts of transplants disgusted with “homeless shantytowns” and street vendors, (i.e, the urban reality of their Seinfeld and Friends’ fantasy) and heading back to the suburbs. Ultimately, there simply aren’t enough wealthier individuals to fill all of the NELA slots to adequately address your profit-motive. Especially at the prices you’re gambling on. Moreover, this protest is already one sign of La Raza (i.e., The People not “the Race” you clueless ignoramasses) defiantly striking back at being displaced from our beloved NELA. In any case, my extended family has very deep roots in NELA and between us we own properties in Silverlake, Echo Park, Elysian Valley, Cypress Park, Highland Park, and Lincoln Heights. Nobody has expressed any interest in selling, which means we’re here to stay. Not like you whose only here to turn a profit but not at our expense. We love to live, work, and play in NELA and our heart and souls are not for sale but yours is. I’ll see you when the bubble bursts and you become desperate to return to Pasadena where you belong.

Try me, marshmallow. There ain’t nothing soft about me,. I didn’t run and hide. I planted my flag, survived, and prospered during the worst of times. You’re nothing but a carpetbagger looking to make a quick buck. You got nuthin coming.

You heard it here first everyone: Koreans deserved to bear the brunt of the LA Riots.

Proper Dos continues to be the most racist, bigoted, backwards troll on this web site. Please keep the hilariously ironic comments up (“you bigoted marshmallows!”) so everyone can continue to see how pathetic you are.

lol. In the future, I predict we will see even more hilarity from proper dos as he becomes more and more isolated, as the few with his mindset eventually move away. Over the past months, you can see his rhetoric becoming more and more desperate, resorting to knuckle-dragging threats and taunts. Our society is evolving, and folks like proper dos will either wise up or get left behind.

Actually “Jonathan”, 60% of the businesses destroyed during the riots were latino-owned. Just one factor that dissuaded NELA residents from contributing to the destruction and just one of those annoying little(?) facts that consistently gets lost in the conventional Black-White dialogue. Hispanic immigrants were no more welcomed in those neighborhoods than asians. “Sssssssssssssssssss. . .” That’s the sound of Jonathan being BURNED . . . (lol).

. . . and you DID get served by the Brave New Voices link posted for your information. They perfectly captured the whiny tone of privileged citizens pissin and moanin about their loss of privilege. “There IS a club for white people. It’s called Capitol Hill” (lol). My favorite line of the monologue.

I can honestly say that “hate” is not a word in my vocabulary. Contempt? Disdain? Pity? Perhaps. After all, as a fellow property owner, I can’t imagine being gambling/ripped-off at the prices you’re investing at(?!). If you had any backbone, you would be looking towards south-central and even southeast. That’s where the real-estate bargains are worth investing in. Unfortunately, you simply don’t have the balls for that type of gamble. Do you marshmallow?

There is no equivalent of the KKK in Mexico. That is an American tradition exemplified by the relentless bigotry being expressed on this message board. I can only hope and pray (for your sakes) that you are all neighbors of True Freedom in Pasadena because I NEVER hear these opinions expressed in any of the food joints or micro-brews I regularly visit in NELA. Otherwise, try me. I’m all ears.

Like I said, whether it be the Oinkster, Milk Farm, the CA cuisine place, or pizza joint, I NEVER hear these opinions expressed to my face. Of course, I’m there for a good time of drinking and socializing not political debat but duly noted. I’ll keep my ears open next time I’m there. Thanks.

As a Mexican I can say that these anti gentrification Pochos are a real embarrassment. Pocho culture is fading and they can’t deal with it. This happens to all immigrant communities over time. Little Italy, Jewish Ghettos, Chinatowns and Irish enclaves. Its painful I know but in the end your children will appreciate it when they are doctors lawyers and engineers and not weighed down and held down by this pointless chip of insecurity and low expectations. Mexican culture will live on forever rich and bountiful deep and profound but this vague shadow that they call “Chicano” is fading and the sooner the better. The Sabor de Mexico lives strong and vibrant in Mexico. Go visit and see just how far you’ve drifted from that culture. Viva Mexico. Viva USA.

As a “Mexican” who gives a crap what you have to say? This is the U.S. Return to Mexico if you don’t appreciate dissent, freedom of assembly, or free speech Assimilate “Mexican” because Chicanos have no intention of pleasing Mexicans like you. Ni que no tuvieras cola que pisar, culero.

I don’t care wether people give crap about what I say. I’m just chiming in on what I see as a desperate and futile attempt to intimidate people who have every right to open up a yoga studio/kale bar/pizza joint. Of course I appreciate free speech (duh) its the content of their gripes and I just happen disagree with the protesters. You never will please US because you are a pathetic embarrassment to all the hard working immigrants and your inappropriate appropriation of Mexican culture where you see fit. Its like nescafe compared to anything back in Mexico. Your phony culture is ASSIMILATING into the ether. By telling me to go back to Mexico you just sound like rednecks of Arizona. Chicano culture is dying and you with it HOMLES! Adios. Now go get another tattoo on your face. When asswipes like you go around putting eviction notices on peoples businesses I can only think of one thing; kristallnacht. (look it up mensa) .

You are severely uninformed and simply square. Chicano culture is NOT an appropriation of Mexican culture. It is our own brand of American culture of Mexican descent, i.e., NONE of us are anxious to don the paisa-boots or sombreros of our parents. The adoption and redemption of the term Chicano in a country that only had disdain for Mexicans like YOU was an assertion of our American NOT Mexican identity and NO you don’t appreciate free speech or dissent. The very cornerstones of a healthy democracy. Otherwise, you would restrain your fascist impulses and not insist on stifling protest with your belligerent self-loathing and self-righteousness. Btw, i’m not a member of the tattoos-as-fashion-statements generation. I’m of the generation when tattoos symbolized deep affiliation to people, place, and/or time and/or personal life experiences but what would you know about it, paisa? You’re not one of us. You just wish you were one of us. Americans by choice and Raza de corazon. The best of both worlds. Now go and stretch yourself into a yoga knot and try and ignore everyone thinking “Wtf is this Mexican doing in our yoga class?!?”.

Btw, don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that Chicanos are trying to impress Mexicans. Why? Also, your “pocho” slur is Waaaay more outdated than the term Chicano. It reminds me of how my great grandparents used to speak. I’m pretty educated and informed on our history but not even I can pinpoint the exact origin of that term(?) but iit’s gotta go back to the early 19 or even 1800s (lol). Way to stay current, paisa (lol).

The only constant in life is change. None of the neighborhoods I’ve ever lived in have stayed the same, but I’m not going to harass anyone about it. People change, neighborhoods change – accept and adapt or be very frustrated by choice.

I AM WHITE. White privilege is REAL. Gentrification has been documented. FACT: It displaces people and tears apart families. I understand why they are angry. I go to HP and love the new places. I am making this neighborhood expensive. Its a fact. A sad fact. But, frankly, I don’t care, I can’t afford to live in Silver Lake anymore, so it goes. BUT I understand why they are angry- and no one can stop it, and I’m sorry.

For anyone interested, Richard Duardo Just died. He was a teenager in HP in the 60’s, when it was then, as he calls it, a hard leaning right wing neighborhood. Before that he lived in Boyle Heights, which he describes as a very Jewish neighborhood in transition to being a First Generation Mexican neighborhood. The full article, a lovely and totally interesting interview with one of LA’s top artists in the last 50 years can be read here: http://www.chicano.ucla.edu/files/09Duardo.pdf

I post because I thought I would share my own story of how I, lower middle class midwestern white girl, came to live in HP in 2006. I was working at a bronze casting foundry in City Terrace, and went out for drinks one night after work with someone from the neighborhood that I worked with. We were both painters at the time, and I was talking about how I wanted to get into silkscreening. We started talking about different forms of printmaking, and I couldn’t remember the word ‘Lithography’. I was going to ask some people sitting around us, but my friend, 3rd Gen Chicano, said no way would I find anyone, we were at Mr.T’s Bowling and ‘everyone here’s just a chollo, cholla…’ is what he said. I shrugged him off and turned around to ask the table behind us, dudes in their 30’s and 40’s, if anyone knew anything about printmaking. Oscar Duardo was sitting there and responded ‘Yeah I’m a Master printer, what do you want to know?’ That started my career as a gig-poster designer. Oscar was the Master Printer at Self Help graphics for years, a skill he learned from his brother Richard after Oscar decided to quit boxing. I was living in a mini back house in Glendale, and figured HP felt like a real place where real people were living, and so I moved there. Haven’t regretted it, and its been home now for 8 years. Instead of arguing this crazy non-sense, why not post the story of how HP became your home? Rather than get all up in arms, let’s recognize that we are one community, and that we’ll all face having to leave this beloved neighborhood if we allow gentrification to get out of control. Power’s in our hands if we all wanna work together. Anyway, read that article, its got tons of East LA history in it, and since the man just passed, its a nice way to honor the life of an artist who made his mark coming from HP.

@Proper Dos: I’m sure by now, everyone is sick of all this chin music, but I believe this is what you said? ” I’M THE SOLE OWNER of several properties in NELA. In fact, my extended family has been flipping/hoarding properties in L.A. since the 50s. More out of necessity than for profit. I secured my share in the 90s.”

So by your own logic, it looks like you are part of the problem. Or is it somehow different if you own property? Of course, I just love the idea that a person who owns a bunch of property and is willing to brag about it is also attempting to be a mouthpiece for working class renters, since obviously enough, you are one of them. Right, got it.

And by the way, the only reason you and your family are, as you so arrogantly put it, “hoarding property” is because of Prop. 13 allowing you to pay vastly less in property taxes than in virtually any other state in the US. I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing that you can’t be taxed right out of your own home. For that matter, I’ve been literally taxed out of owning homes in two other states. (Which incidentally is why I currently own a home in another neighborhood in LA, namely Boyle Heights. Which was about the only place I could afford to buy in ’08, since places like HLP were already far too expensive.)

But with such privilege comes responsibility. And having the voter-approved ability to own more property than you need to live in is indeed a privilege, no matter how hard you worked for it, and no matter how hard you try to justify it. I’m sure you think you’re doing your part to take the fight to “The Man” by arguing that it is somehow wrong that other people also want to own property in NELA, but c’mon. You own multiple properties and you brag about it. You ARE “The Man”. YOU are the problem. Sorry.

Please keep your comments civil and on topic and refrain from personal attacks. The moderator reserves the right to edit or delete any comments. The Eastsider's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy apply to comments submitted by readers. Required fields are marked *